Hasta La Creative!

In July I published a column titled “How Are We Supposed to Feel About Walmart? Other Than Bad?” The discount retail chain was in the news at the time because of its threats to cancel plans for new Washington, D.C., stores over a so-called “living wage” bill that would have forced large employers to pay at least $12.50 per hour. (In September, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray vetoed the bill.)

The point of my column, as expressed in its subtitle, was to explore “What Happens When a Relentlessly Negative Media Narrative Drowns Out Your Brand Messaging.” Now, four months later, Walmart is experiencing a fresh wave of negative media attention, thanks to a Cleveland Plain Dealer story about a Canton, Ohio, Walmart that has been soliciting food donations. As the paper’s Olivera Perkins reports,

It’s a food drive — not for the community, but for needy workers.

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